Priest slaughtered at morning mass in front of worshippers in 'terrorist' bloodbath at French church

Peter Allen26 July 2016

Anti-terrorist police shot two knifemen dead today after they murdered a priest by cutting his throat during a siege inside a church in northern France.

Today’s bloodbath unfolded in the town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, close to the Normandy city of Rouen.

The clergyman, named as Jacques Hamel, 84, had his throat cut, said a spokesman for the Interior Ministry in Paris.

He said the two men rushed into the church via a back entrance during a morning service, soon after 9am.

The Islamic State terror group has since taken responsibility for the attack, saying it was carried out by two of its "soldiers". A man was later arrested in connection with the killing, French prosecutors said.

French President François Hollande travelled to the scene of the slaughter and said the attackers were "two terrorists who claimed to be from Isis".

Police officers close off a road near the scene in Normandy
AP

The two men seized the priest, two sisters from a local order, and two parishioners, said the spokesman

"A third nun escaped and raised the alarm, and anti-terrorists officers were on the scene within minutes," said a source who lives locally.

"It appears that the priest who was celebrating the service was attacked first, and had his throat cut.

The priest killed was named as Jacques Hamel, 86

"The area around the church was sealed off, and then armed officers appeared with their weapons.

"I heard at least a dozen shots."

Eglise Saint Etienne 
Google StreetView

The siege officially ended at around 11am, following the shooting of the two attackers.

Units attending including the elite RAID, the anti-terrorist unit that was heavily involved in the Paris attacks last year, in which almost 150 people were murdered.

Anti-terrorist judges immediately opened an investigation in to today’s attack, as President Francois Hollande and Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve attended the scene.

Mr Hollande said: "I have met with the family of the priest and I have spoken to the people kept hostage who expressed their pain and sadness as well as a wish to comprehend what has happened".

It follows a spate of attacks that have seen scores of people killed across the country, and in other parts of Europe, by attackers linked to Islamic State and Al-Qaeda.

Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel murdered 84 people using a 19-tonne lorry on July 14 before being shot dead by officers.

Five suspected accomplices - four men and one woman, aged between 22 and 40 - appeared in court last week charged with carrying out a range of terrorist crimes linked to the lorry attack.

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